Oiling system for steam-lines.



D; J. C. MEYEBINGH.

OIHNG SYSTEM FOR STEAM LINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 21. ma.

1,294,363. Patented Feb.11,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEE I" 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOR g fll/P/f J. (3'. MEYER/N616 WWW- DIRK JAN CHRISTIAAN MEYERINGH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

OILING SYSTEM FOR STEAM-LINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 11, 1919.

Application filed March 27, 1918. Serial No. 224,932.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DIRK JAN CHRIS- TIAAN MEYERINGH, a citizen of Holland, and a resident of the borough of Brooklyn, Kings county, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oiling Systems for Steam- Lines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates toan oiling system for steam lines connected with steam engines and steam devices of various kinds, where it is desired to mix lubricating oil homogeneously with the steam so as to be carried to steam cylinders and other frictionally related parts normally subjected to the action of. steam, and thus provide for effective lubrication.

In the prior art, what are known as Hydrostatic Lubricators are well known. Here a reservoir or receptacle filled with oil is connected up by two independent pipes to points in the steam line. One of these pipes must, somewhere in its length, reach a higher level than the receptacle, and its terminus is, usually but not necessarily, near the bottom of the receptacle, while the terminus of the other pipe is near the top of the receptacle, a needle valve being placed in such latter pipe just outside the receptacle. The former pipe is termed the condensation pipe and the latter pipe the foil supply pipe. When steam is passing through the steam line a certain percentage thereof condenses in the condensation pipe, thereby providing a hydrostatic head which, after equilibrium is arrived at, presses down into the receptacle, displacing the oil and forcing it past the needle valve and into the steam line as fast as the head is added to by the normal condensation of steam.

When a large oil feed is required, the condensation pipe at some point above the reservoir, is often formed as a flat spiral or is globularly expandedcin order to aflord a greater condensation surface.

In this known form of lubricator the amount of oil fed into the steam line is dependent solely upon the hydrostatic pressure of the condensate in the condensation pipe and this condensate, as is well known, is substantially independent of the volume of steam flowing per unit of time. It follows, therefore, that if the lubricator be determined so as to provide a suitable supply of oil for a normal steam load, an excess supply of oil willbe supplied for a. small steam load and a subnormal amount pf C({il will be supplied for an excess steam It is the object of my invention to provide a lubricator having features of construction similar in many ways to features embodied in hydrostatic lubricators, as just described, but which shall automatically feed an amount of oil into the steam line substantially proportional to the volume of steam flowing through said line in unit time. In this way each unit volume of steam will have exactly the same amount of oil distributed through it at all times whether the steam load be large or small, and the surfaces to belubricated will, therefore, always receive just the right amount of oil.

Briefly described, my invention comprises an oil reservoir very similar to that used in the known hydrostatic lubricator and somewhat similarly connected by a condensation pipe and needle-valved oil pipe to the steam line. In its preferred form, the points of connection of both pipes to the steam line are substantially at the same level which level is considerably higher than that of the reservoir. Furthermore, the steam pipe, at the point where the oil pipe is connected thereto, is given a decreased crosssection so that the steam velocity at this section is greater than the steam velocity at the section where the condensation pipe is connected. The steam pressure at the point of connection of the condensation pipe will, therefore, be greater than the steam pressure at the point of connection of the oil pipe.

At a suitable distance above the oil receptacle, the condensation pipe is formed as a fiat spiral of many convolutions, thus pro-- viding a large condensing surface and insuring a constant level for the top of the water column.

The height of the condensation pipe below the spiral, with respect to the height of the oil pipe below its inlet into the steam line, should be inversely as the specific gravities of the water and the oil; in this way the water and oil column will balance one another and exert no pressure componentto force the oil pasttheneedle valve.

Under these circumstances, when steam is flowing through the steam line, the pres-- sure which will be exerted upon the water column in the condensation pipe will. be a function of the steam flow in the steam line per unit of time, as will hereinafter appear.

My invention will be better understood by referring to the accompanying figures in which Figure 1 represents a front view of a preferred embodiment of the invention as applied to a steam line; and Fig. represents a plan view thereof.

In the drawings, the oil reservoir, 1, is provided with. a cap, 2, for filling, and a valve, 3, for tightly closing the reservoir after it has been filled.

The steam line, 1, is provided with an interposed nozzle section, 5, the cross-section of which, atthe ends, is substantially that of the remaining portions of the line, while from the ends to the center the section equally and continuously diminishes.

The condensationpipe 6, enters the nozzle section, at one end, is preferably but not necessarily formed as a spiral of many con volutions at, 7, a-little below the level of the nozzle section, and enters the receptacle near the top at 8. Instead of a spiral condenser, as illustrated, I may substitute any other usual form known in the art. And, of course, the condenser may beomitted from its pipe altogether if a certain departure from strict accuracy be considered permissible.

The oil pipe, 9, enters the nozzle section at its center and connects with a sight-feed or dropcounting glass, 10, at its top. The bottom of this feed glass connects with an in- 1 teriorxfeed pipe 11, which extends upwardly 1n the receptacle and has its open end ust below valve 3. The condensation pipe and the oil'pipe are both of comparatively small diameter.

A. sight-feed glass, 12, is connected at the top and bottom with the interior of the receptacle and is provided with valves, 13 and 14.

Oil pipe, 9, is provided with a valve, 1.5,

just before it joins sight-feed, 10, and another valve, 16, is interposed between feed pipe, 11, and sight-feed, 10. A needle valve, 17, of usual construction, is located at the bottom of sight-feed, 10, between it and valve, 16.

Valves, 18, and, 19, are provided for condensation pipe and oil pipe, respectively, just before they join the steam line.

Sight-feed 10 is connected by a passage controlled by a valve 20, with a filling cap 21..

Oil pipe, 9, is preferably extended through and beyond the wall of the nozzle section so asto project into the interior thereof. This prevents oil entering through said oil pipe from flowing over the inner wall of the steam pipe instead of mixing with the steam.

The nozzle section, 5, and spiral, 7, are sufficiently high above the reservoir, 1, to make the dimension W (the height of the water column) be to the dimension H (the 7 height of the oil column), as the specific gravity of the oil is to the specific 3 avity of the water. In stating these dimensions, it is assunied'that the base ofthe water column, and of the oil column, lies at the constant level of thepoint of connection of the condensation pipe to the oil reservoir. This is not strictly true butis immaterial since, with a condensation pipe and'an oil pipe of reasonable length, vertically, the

fluctuating position of the base of th'e water, 7

should be filled with oilthroughthe cap, 2, andvalve, 3, closed. Valves, 18 and tween middle valve, 17, and feed pipe 11,

should have been first closed andthe remaining valves, 13, 14C, and 15 open; Sight-feed, 10, should thenbe filled with waterthrough cap, 21, and valve, 20, closed. If, now, valves, 16, 18, and 19, be opened and steam turned on, the water pipe/T, will fill there I with and this steam will gradually condense until thesaid pipe between the reservoir and spiral, 7, is filled with water.

The velocity of the steambeing less at the section passing through valve, 18, than atthe section passing through valve, 19, the pressure at this former point will be correspondingly greater. This ressure. exerted upon the water column in pipe, 6, will force water drop by drop through outlet,-8,-into the re ceptac-le. Waterbeing heavier than oil, each drop of water will displace adrop of oil and oil will therefore be fed, drop by drop through the needle valve intosight-feed, 10,

whence it will ascend and fill the oil pipe, 9,

and finally enter the nozzle section "at its center. i

The amount of oil passing into ,the steam 7 line may be determined by counting the drops which rise, per unit of time, in the sight-feed,10, andmay be regulated by adjusting the needle valve, 17. V

As the oil enters into the steamline where V the velocity is h ghest, the certainty of its I being thoroughly-broken up and mixed with the steam, is a maximum.

That, unde the conditions as described,

the flow of pil through the needle valve will be substantially proportional to the flow of steam through the nozzle section, so that each unit volume of steam will contain a unit volume of oil irrespective of the amount of steam passing through the nozzle section in unit time, will appear from the following:

Let Q quantity of oil passing through the needle' valve per unit of time. p pressure upon the water column.

i pzpressure upon the oil column.

C:a constant.

This is readily deduced from the well known toricelhan law coverlng the discharge of fluids from circular orifices, v1z.,

See Kent Mech. Engrs. Plat-Book 8th Q= 1/ !7 Ed., p. 697.

C being aconstant and p and 19 having the same meaning as before. (See Kent M 6071,. Engrs. Plat-Book, 8th ed., p. 592. where the expression is given for the flow of air in pipe.)

when G, 6Z5 and L are constants and p is the pressure difference or, in the present case, the (pp) of equations (1) and (3). Hence Q. is proportional to Q, (equation (4:), while strictly only applicable to air, is, nevertheless, accurate to within negligible practical limits if applied to steam.) s Preferably, that portion of the condensation .pipe above spiral, 7, should be insulated in order to be sure that it may always be full of steam and that the top of the water column may be permanently maintained at the level of the spiral. Furthermore, it is important that the spiral should have a sufficiently large surface to insure that, whether the oil consumption be large or small, the temperature of the water passing into the oil receptacle shall remain constant; this is necessary in order that the temperature of th oil itself, and hence the viscosity of the oil, shall remain the same since otherwise an independent eifect will be exerted upon the oil consumption.

Instead of connecting the condensation and oil pipes to a nozzle section of the character described, 2'. 6., instead of having these pipes enter the steam line at points of greater and less cross-section respectively, I may, if I prefer, connect said pipes to a pair of Pitot tubes inserted either in the same crosssection of the steam line or at different points of uniform cross-section, the tube connected with the condensation tube having the plane of its opening across the steam line and the other tube having its opening parallel with the steam line.

Where, in the claims, I speak of a condensation pipe, I mean a pipe adapted to have steam condensed therein so that there will be established, during the operation of the invention, a water column adjacent the receptacle and a steam column resting upon the water column with its upper end adjacent th steam line.

Other changes of detail may be made within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an oiling system, in combination with a steam line, a receptacle adapted to contain oil, and a condensation and an oil pipe terminating in said receptacle, the oil pipe in the upper part thereof, the remaining ends of said pipes, respectively, being connected with the steam line at points where the pressures are relatively greater and less. I

2. In an oiling system, in combination with a steam line, a receptacle adapted to contain oil, and a condensation and an oil pipe terminating in said receptacle, the oil pipe in the upper part thereof, the remaining ends of said pipes, respectively, terminating in the steam line at points of less and greater velocity.

3. In an oiling system, in combination with a steam line, a receptacle adapted to contain oil, and a condensation and an oil pipe terminating in said receptacle, the oil pipe in the upper part thereof, the remaining nds of said pipes respectively terminating in the steam line' at points of greater and less cross-section.

4. In an oiling system, in combination with a steam line, a receptacle adapted to contain oil, a condensation pipe which passes through a region higher than the receptacle, and an oil pipe terminating in said receptacle, the oil pipe in the upper part there of, the remaining ends terminating in the steam line at points having, respectively, a greater and less cross-section.

5. An oiling system comprising a receptacle adapted to contain oil, a steam line having a contracted portion, a condensation pipe having a horizontal spiral between its ends, one of which connects to the steam line at a point of relatively large cross-sec tion, while the other end terminates in the receptacle, and an oil pipe, one end of which connects to thesteain line in the contracted region While the other end terminates in the upper pertofthe receptacle, the difference oflevel between the spiral and the receptacle' being tothe dilference of level hetWeen-the upper end of the oil pipe andthe receptacle, as the specific gravity of oil is to Water.

6. In an oiling system, in combination With a steam line, a receptacle adapted to contain oil and a pair of pipes connected to the steam line at points Where the pressures are different and ending in the receptacle, the pipe connected to the point of higher Copies cf this patent may be: obtained for fire cents each, byefldressing the Gommiesinerei Eete nta,

pressure endingintheupper partofthe receptacle and serving to condense steam so as to establish a water columntherein.

7. In an oiling system, in vcolilleination with a steam line, e receptacle adapted to contain oil and a pair of pipes connected to the steam line at points Where the pressures are different enclending in the reeep-,

tacle, the pipe connected to the point of higher pressure having aconclenser between its ends. I

In testimony whereof I have-hereunto set my hand.

DIRK JAN GHRISTIAAN-MEXERINGH.

Washington, B. E. 

